The Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition (JCLC), a climate change awareness and action coalition of Jewish organizations (started by Adamah in 2022), was formed to recognize the urgency of climate change and for its members organizations to commit to taking action.
Since its inception, 78 USCJ congregations have joined, making the Conservative/Masorti Movement the organization with the highest participation by gross numbers and second-highest by ratio of membership than any other association involved. USCJ and 19 other major Jewish organizations joined the JCLC as founding partners, now called national partners. As members, they submit annual Climate Action Plans each year by Tu Bishvat. As part of its initial plan in 2023, USCJ committed to hosting a sustainable Conservative/Masorti Convening, which included using biodegradable badges, electronic materials rather than paper, more plant-based meals, and reusable dishes. USCJ initially hoped to recruit 20 congregations to join the JCLC and more than doubled that total, recruiting 42 that year. In its 2024 Climate Action Plan, USCJ pledged to recruit 25 more and also exceeded that goal, among other sustainability goals.
USCJ’s board member, Environmental Sustainability Chair, and member of the Social Justice Commission (SJC) Subcommittee for Environmental Sustainability, Dana Sharon Winer, cautions that while these numbers are impressive, there is still much work to be done.
“The greatest impact that USCJ can have is in supporting our congregations to implement sustainability initiatives that not only fulfill the Jewish imperative of Yishuv Ha’Olam (preserving a habitable world), but also save our congregations money. Imagine the impact we could have as a movement if all USCJ congregations ‘go green’!” Dana emphasizes.
Dana, along with Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, the chair of the SJC Subcommittee for Environmental Sustainability, and their USCJ and RA teams have prioritized training and collecting information on congregational Environmental Sustainability Chairs (ESCs). ESCs are the people spearheading environmental initiatives in their communities, many of which participate in the JCLC. Rabbi Cardin co-authored the teshuvah on the mitzvah of sustainability and created a curriculum to provide skills and resources to the ESCs. They started running the training virtually in December 2024. Since then, the cohort has remained active, sharing actionable resources and ideas. There will be more ESC training sessions this fall, expanding the network of active ESCs.
While 78 congregations have already joined, there are still nearly 450 USCJ congregations that have the potential to join the JCLC. USCJ and the SJC Subcommittee would love to hold an in-person conference for current and future ESCs in the future. If you or someone you know has the passion to help fund this effort, please reach out to Brad Sugar at [email protected]. If your community is interested in joining the JCLC (click here) or if you want to learn more about how to start environmental initiatives, please get in touch with Dana Sharon Winer at [email protected]. You can register here for the next virtual ESC training, taking place on two Sundays, October 26 and November 2 from 7-9pm ET / 4-6pm PT. USCJ is looking forward to this next chapter in its climate action journey.
